FCC Chairman Brendan Carr is facing increased scrutiny over the agency’s delay in implementing a rule that would expand emergency alerts to more than a dozen languages. Despite unanimous Commission approval in October, the rule’s rollout has stalled, drawing criticism from members of Congress, local leaders, and a sitting FCC commissioner.
The rule, part of a broader modernization of the Emergency Alerts system, would require EAS participants, including broadcasters and cable providers, to transmit pre-scripted alerts and prerecorded audio in 13 widely spoken non-English languages, including Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, and Arabic, in the appropriate language matching their content. However, the regulatory machinery has ground to a halt. The final Report and Order has not yet been published in the Federal Register, a procedural step that must occur before a 30-month compliance clock can begin.
At a press event in Carson, California, Rep. Nanette Barragán (D., Calif.), FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, and Carson Mayor Lula Davis-Holmes called on FCC Chairman Brendan Carr to immediately publish the rule. “We’ve seen what happens when communities don’t get accurate information in their language. It leads to panic, confusion, and danger,” Rep. Barragán said. “Chairman Carr’s delay is not just bureaucratic, it’s reckless.”
The criticism comes amid heightened concern about communication breakdowns during natural disasters, particularly among populations with limited English proficiency. Officials cited a January wildfire evacuation alert in Los Angeles County that was mistakenly sent countywide instead of to a single neighborhood. The misfire caused widespread panic, especially among the region’s 2.5 million residents who are not fluent in English.
Gomez, soon to be the lone Democrat on the Commission, warned that as wildfires, floods, and hurricanes become more common, the stakes for inclusive communication are growing. “We cannot play politics with public safety,” she said. “It’s time for the FCC to allow this process to move forward so that more people can receive the critical information they need in their chosen language.”
The delay has prompted a formal rebuke from several Democratic lawmakers, including leaders of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Congressional Black Caucus, and Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. In a May 26 letter addressed to Carr, the lawmakers said the Commission’s failure to publish the rule “directly jeopardizes the ability of our communities to receive life-saving emergency information.”
Though Carr voted in favor of the rule last year, his office has not commented publicly on the publication delay. According to the letter, the Commission completed development of the alert templates in January, but the Report and Order has languished without explanation. Under administrative law, the publication in the Federal Register would formally trigger a timeline requiring carriers to update systems and ensure language-specific delivery capabilities.
Mayor Davis-Holmes framed the issue in terms of both safety and equity. “In a city as diverse as Carson, our residents need to receive nationwide emergency alerts in the language they understand,” she said. “This is about equity, safety, and respect.”
